Golden Core is a Star, and You Call This Cultivation?

The Taisie Talisman intensified, confining the battle between the Banner Lord and the Envoy of the Emperor’s Hall within a designated space as the Ten Thousand Ghosts Banner unfurled, blanketing the battlefield. The Banner Lord’s face brimmed with confidence—without the Supreme Truth Seal, this Envoy was nothing more than a prime target in his eyes.

“Die!” he shouted, each strike unleashing a torrent of immortal energy, powerful enough to annihilate worlds. Spatial rifts and overlaps flickered as his attacks unleashed their full, terrifying might, enough to make even ordinary Supreme Truths falter.

At that moment, a crimson sword emerged from the Envoy’s hand, radiating intense, malevolent energy—a chilling aura of pure malice. As the sword clashed with the Banner Lord’s energy, it was like two dark forces waging war.

Boom!

The first clash ended as expected: the Banner Lord had the upper hand, his advantage apparent over the Envoy of the Emperor’s Hall.

The White Dragon Abyss Lord narrowed her eyes. “With Taihuang Palace’s support, the Banner Lord might actually manage to subdue this Envoy.”

The Master of Shenluo Heaven mused aloud, “What puzzles me is why the Envoy even emerged from the Mystical Land. Had he stayed hidden, he wouldn’t be trapped by the Taisie Talisman.”

“Perhaps he never anticipated it,” another commented.

“Clearly, he isn’t from any of our Sixfold Heaven’s Sacred Lands.”

Speculations rippled among the Supreme Truths as the battle raged on, each move and countermove exchanged in a furious hundred-round duel. Despite his superiority, the Banner Lord found himself unable to inflict any actual harm on his adversary.

The Banner Lord smirked with barely concealed surprise. “So, you do have some strength. But now, I’ll get serious!”

Satisfied with his assessment, he launched a full-force assault. The Envoy lacked the Supreme Truth Seal, so at best, this skirmish could drag on indefinitely if fought traditionally. Thus, he resolved to bring the full power of the Ten Thousand Ghosts Banner into play.

“Hand over the Ten Thousand Ghosts Banner, and I’ll grant you a dignified death!”

The Banner unfurled, casting shadows over the sky, its malevolent aura seeming to chill the very bones. In the eerie dimness, ghastly apparitions lurched forward with open claws, their faces twisted with hatred and pain. Every ghostly pair of eyes locked on Qi Yuan as though they saw him as the murderer of their kin.

The Banner Lord had long fused the Ten Thousand Ghosts Banner with his own energy, manipulating its vengeful souls to perceive his enemies as their executioners. Under the Banner’s influence, each soul attacked as if seeking revenge.

Qi Yuan, sensing imminent danger, instinctively summoned his own banner.

“You have the Ten Thousand Ghosts Banner—I have the Human Emperor’s Banner!”

With a single, resounding shout, Qi Yuan brandished a tattered yet imposing banner. Covered in ancient, complex patterns, it was an artifact infused with the virtue of righteousness. Its light, fierce and unyielding, was the very antithesis of the Ten Thousand Ghosts Banner’s sinister aura.

Under its holy radiance, his blood-red armor appeared all the more otherworldly. Wielding his blood-hued sword with one hand and the Human Emperor’s Banner with the other, Qi Yuan stood as both a divine and demonic figure.

“Demons and spirits, all shall be purged!” His sword flashed, and purifying light surged from the Human Emperor’s Banner, dispelling the evil presence from the Ten Thousand Ghosts Banner. Ghostly wails filled the air, a piercing response to the purification.

“Human Emperor’s Banner?” the Supreme Truths exclaimed, taken aback.

An offensive artifact of this caliber was usually crafted by Supreme Truths through centuries of refinement. The existence of the Human Emperor’s Banner was unexpected, and the Banner Lord himself looked on in disbelief.

“How is it possible? A Human Emperor’s Banner truly exists?” he muttered, shaken. Every time the Envoy had attacked Ghost Heaven, he had claimed that all banners fell under the dominion of the Human Emperor’s Banner and that the Ten Thousand Ghosts Banner rightfully belonged to the Emperor’s Hall. Until now, the Banner Lord had dismissed it as mere boastful threats. After all, he had completed the Ten Thousand Ghosts Banner himself after inheriting it from his predecessor.

Qi Yuan paid him no mind, his voice resonating with purpose as he held the Human Emperor’s Banner high. “Wherever there is injustice, this banner will clear it!”

With his sword in one hand emanating killing intent and the banner in the other radiating righteous light, Qi Yuan pressed forward. His crimson and holy energies intertwined, a dazzling contrast.

“Attack!” he bellowed, brandishing the banner.

The Banner Lord recoiled in alarm. Under the power of the Human Emperor’s Banner, his Ten Thousand Ghosts Banner shrank back as though a mouse before a predatory cat. Ghostly cries echoed as though faced with a natural nemesis.

The Banner Lord’s panic flared. He had never anticipated his opponent possessing such an artifact of destruction.

Qi Yuan’s voice thundered over the battlefield. “Ten Thousand Ghosts Banner, you have suffered enough. Evil is not your inherent fault.”

The Human Emperor’s Banner glowed, and a curious change swept over the Ten Thousand Ghosts Banner.

“What are you doing?” the Banner Lord shouted, alarmed.

“I am purifying the cultivation world’s corrupted ways. I am here to make things right,” Qi Yuan replied impassively. The Ten Thousand Ghosts Banner was a product of a twisted cultivation world, a vile artifact refined by merging countless vengeful spirits.

Looking into the Banner, Qi Yuan continued, “Banner, I know you’ve done wrong, but it is not your fault; it’s the fault of this world. Will you join the Human Emperor’s Banner and help me change it?”

Using the Great Forgetting Sutra, Qi Yuan’s persuasive voice reached into the Ten Thousand Ghosts Banner, sowing doubt in the spirits within.

The Banner Lord grew frantic, watching as the spirits seemed to pause, as if briefly moved.

“Enough!” the Banner Lord roared, attacking Qi Yuan in desperation. But the Ten Thousand Ghosts Banner felt somehow sluggish and resistant, and even with reinforcements from three other Great Supreme Truths of Ghost Heaven, the tide of the battle turned against him.

Tear!

To his horror, a fifth of the Ten Thousand Ghosts Banner’s fabric tore away and drifted towards the Human Emperor’s Banner. The Banner Lord’s face contorted in rage and despair.

“No!” he howled, but it was futile. The Supreme Truths watching exchanged uneasy glances.

“Could the Ten Thousand Ghosts Banner truly be part of the Human Emperor’s Banner?” one mused.

“Perhaps the Envoy of the Emperor’s Hall engineered this entire confrontation, planning to provoke the Banner Lord into summoning his banner so he could then absorb it,” another Supreme Truth suggested.

“This can’t continue…he’ll lose the entire Ten Thousand Ghosts Banner at this rate.”

Indeed, more and more of the Ten Thousand Ghosts Banner’s fabric merged into the Human Emperor’s Banner, its betrayal appearing like a prodigal’s return to its true home.

Qi Yuan called out in stern reproach. “When one sees the error of their ways, there’s no greater virtue than change. Banner Lord, even the Ten Thousand Ghosts Banner has seen reason. Will you now end yourself and join my banner? I’ll reserve a place for you as a humble spirit.”

“You…” The Banner Lord cursed his decision to use the Taisie Talisman. Its restraints meant he couldn’t escape, and he could only watch as his treasured artifact slipped from his grasp, merging with the Human Emperor’s Banner.

The battle dragged on, and with each passing moment, the Ten Thousand Ghosts Banner diminished further. The Banner Lord looked worse by the minute, despairing as he saw his ultimate weapon reduced to a fraction of its former glory.

Just then, a light appeared, and the Banner Lord cried out in joy, “Origin True Sage, please help lift the Taisie Talisman!”

Origin True Sage’s projection descended, catching the attention of every Supreme Truth.

The projection of Taihuang Palace’s Supreme Truth waved his hand. “Dispel.”

The Taisie Talisman’s effect had nearly expired anyway. As its influence lifted, the Banner Lord breathed a sigh of relief. Though his artifact was broken, as long as a piece remained, he could still maintain his position within the ranks of the second-tier Supreme Truths, even if among the weakest.

He turned and fled. But just then, two glimmers blocked his escape, and in the time it took to stall him, Qi Yuan closed in. The Banner Lord’s last piece of the Ten Thousand Ghosts Banner was absorbed into the Human Emperor’s Banner.

“No!” he wailed, his desperation echoing.

In the face of the Emperor’s Banner, he could no longer resist. Fleeing with bitterness and resentment, he heard the mocking voices of those present.

“Banner Lord, it wasn’t me who interfered.”

“It wasn’t me!”

“Nor was it I!”

Many had no sympathy for the Banner Lord’s loss. The battle ended in defeat, with the Banner Lord fleeing and stripped of his banner, leaving the other Supreme Truths to contemplate the significance of what had occurred.

The Banner Lord’s loss was a severe blow. Few offensive artifacts of that caliber existed in the Sixfold Heaven.

Qi Yuan regarded Origin True Sage with a piercing gaze. “Aiding a criminal’s escape is itself a crime.”

The Supreme Truths were taken aback by the audacity. Even the White Dragon Abyss Lord seemed intrigued.

The Abyss Lord of the Endless Depths scoffed. “Envoy of the Emperor’s Hall, do you even know who he is? He’s one of the Three Lords of Taihuang Palace!”

“Hmph. Even a king is subject to the law. If he has committed a crime today, he is guilty,” Qi Yuan replied calmly.

The Supreme Truths were struck silent. Even those who had considered allying with him quickly reconsidered.

Origin True Sage’s gaze grew cold. “I would love to see you ‘enforce’ judgment on Taihuang Palace.”

“I’ll come in person once I’ve completed my training,” Qi Yuan replied, yawning. His demeanor was lazily dismissive, but his tone carried an ominous weight.

“Then I’ll wait for you in Taihuang Palace!” Origin True Sage scoffed as his projection disappeared.

As the Supreme Truths departed, they offered Qi Yuan respectful but wary glances.

Alone at last, Qi Yuan appeared beside the ruined town where the corpses of villagers lay, clutching their last possessions. He closed his eyes and allowed a fleeting image of their final moments to surface in his mind—villagers hauling heavy loads up steps to a mountain temple, their lives abruptly cut short.

“Good thing I’m merciful enough to leave seeds behind,” Qi Yuan murmured, reaching down to activate the hidden marks he had left on those nearby, marks that would revive these mortals in the Underworld as long as resources permitted.

Suddenly, a cloaked figure spoke. “What exactly are you doing?”

Qi Yuan glanced up to see a gray-cloaked figure, the White Dragon Abyss Lord herself.

“Just helping them find new work,” Qi Yuan replied curtly, feeling uncomfortable around her.

“Such kindness,” the Abyss Lord observed, assuming he was laying them to rest. Resurrections, after all, were impossible at that level.

“Why have you come?” Qi Yuan asked, keeping his distance.

This time, an elderly voice joined in. “I have come to invite you to join the Supreme Truth Council as an honorary member.”

The Supreme Truth appeared, his manner bold. Qi Yuan declined without hesitation.

“I thought you’d want an alliance against Taihuang Palace for mutual benefit,” the Council’s Supreme Truth offered, his tone confident even before a rival Supreme Truth.

Qi Yuan shook his head. “Joining you would mean compromising. If I found you committing atrocities, I’d feel obligated to act, for the sake of my banner’s integrity.”

The Council’s Supreme Truth was left speechless, his assumption that Qi Yuan’s ideals were a mere pretense suddenly shattered.

“Do you mean this?” he asked, hesitantly.

“I don’t lie often,” Qi Yuan replied. “The Human Emperor’s Banner represents my wish to cleanse the corruption in the cultivation world. We’re not on the same path.”

After a moment, the Council’s Supreme Truth sighed in resignation. The White Dragon Abyss Lord looked at Qi Yuan, intrigued. If he truly meant what he said, it seemed there was more to him than mere words.

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